Adult Education Series

Foundations of Creation: Fire

Natural landscapes in the US and Canada have been drastically altered by human activities, including infrastructure development, logging, overgrazing, the introduction of invasive species, and fire suppression. Prior to Euro-American settlement, highly functional and biodiverse oak and/or pine grassland systems dominated much of the continent. Given the current threat of climate change, it is crucial to understand the past and present ecological conditions of these landscapes to inform future restoration efforts.

The presentation will examine the past to understand grassland systems at the time of Euro-American settlement and discuss how lightning and human ignitions shaped their composition. Heather will also discuss the impacts of fire as a strong selective pressure on keystone plants and bees. Looking ahead, Heather will use projected climate models to address current ecological conditions, focusing on oak ecosystems and grasslands, then paint a picture of what a functional, biodiverse, and resilient landscape may look like and what actions are needed to achieve these outcomes.

About Heather Holm

Heather Holm is a pollinator conservationist and award-winning author of four books: Pollinators of Native Plants (2014), Bees (2017), Wasps (2021), and Common Native Bees of the Eastern United States (2022). She is the founder and chair of Minnesota Native Bees, an online field guide illustrating the native bees of Minnesota and beyond. Heather’s expertise includes interactions between native pollinators and native plants, as well as the natural history and biology of native bees and predatory wasps. Heather is also an accomplished photographer, and her pollinator photos are frequently featured in print and electronic publications.